Homemade Granola

I remember I used to munch granola as a snack while watching television. I especially loved those that contain nuts like almond and walnut. I've been making these snacks recently and would love to share this lovely recipe.

I've always confused myself with muesli and granola. To me, they seemed to be the same as they share many common ingredients. However, these two oat-based cereals are quite different.

MUESLI - This is basically a loose mixture of uncooked rolled oats, dried fruits, nuts and seeds and is commonly served as as quick meals in Switzerland. The dry mixture is traditionally soaked in milk and consumed raw.

GRANOLA - This also consist of rolled oats along with dried fruits, nuts and seeds. The mixture is then tossed with canola oil, sweetened with honey or maple syrup and baked until th ingredients form crunchy clusters. It is popular in the United States and is often served with milk or yogurt as breakfast food and snack food.

Naturally, the snack that I have been enjoying all these while is granola. This is a very easy snack to make. I will usually make a huge batch, pack them in airtight containers after they have been toasted and completely cooled. These will go into milk or yogurt for my breakfast or snack, or even on its own for my 'munching pleasure'! Lol!

Granola with yogurt

Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp salt

1 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

1 cup raisins

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Mix together the rolled oats, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds in a large bowl.

3. In a pan, warm up sugar, honey, salt and canola oil, stirring as you heat up the mixture. (Heating up the syrup mixture so that it will be easier to coat the oat mixture.

4. Pour the warm syrup into the dry oat mixture.

5. Mix thoroughly, ensuring all the dry ingredients are well coated with the syrup mixture.

6. Spread on lined baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or till golden brown. Stir every 10 minutes to get even browning. Quickly stir in the raisins and dried apricot when it's done.

7. Remove from oven and transfer to another baking sheet, spreading it evenly and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Note:

- The granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

- I've also used my homemade granola for other treats like:

Berry Parfait using homemade granola as one of the ingredients - click on image for the recipe

Do link back to LY's Kitchen Ventures if you have used any information published in this blog.